Bills QB situation going into regular season...

[eball]

Good discussion and I appreciate the varying perspectives. My take on Tuel going to the PS is largely based upon whether the Bills would be comfortable putting him out there against a 1st string defense, and I think the answer is no. I wouldn't be shocked if they keep Tuel as the #3, though, along with either Lewis or Leinart.

[Major Mud]

My thinking is relatively simple in regards to the QB situation. They have a preseason game on Thursday, they need more then one arm to play in that game. Team cuts mostly come Tuesday. The Bills could not wait to see who was cut to add a QB. I think Leinart and Lewis battle it out to see who stays as insurance in case EJ is not ready for the opener. I see no way Tuel gets cut if he is the only healthy QB who knows the offense. Lets hope this is in fact the scenerio, and that we get a healthy EJ back for the opener....

[eball]

Let me also add that all of my thoughts on this topic presume EJ is healthy for week one.

[CodeMonkey]

My take is that the Bills are not sure if Manuel will be able to go week 1 or not at this point. They need more than one healthy arm not only for Thursday, but for the start of the regular season.

I figure that Kolb is out now, either retired (hopefully) or put on IR then cut.

 

I feel that Tuel was on the final roster even before Kolb went down. He has shown enough in camp and preseason to be a capable backup and the Bills would not want to risk him getting picked up on waivers. The would have kept all 3 before Kolb went down for this season, and will keep 3 now with Leinart instead of Kolb and put Lewis on the practice squad.

 

It looks like the Pats* game could be brutal. Even if Manuel can go, he is bound to be rusty, and is a rookie to begin with. And Leinart or Tuel starting is the stuff nightmares are made of. The Bills D so far does not look like it can stop Marcia and the boys. The Bills only hope is that either the Bills D has a fantastic game plan for the Pats* that works perfectly all game, or that the D and/or Spiller stands on their head and steals the game.

 

I just hope Marrone does not put Manuel in if he is not ready. The last thing we need is for this to turn into a serious injury that keeps him out for the season.

[dollars 2 donuts]

A few minutes into preseason game 3, about two weeks from opening day, we had 1 healthy QB, with no back-up.

 

...I would have liked to have seen Tuel play better too, but things obviously changed dramatically when Kolb went down.

 

I agree with the escape alive comments that have been previously mentioned.

[Best Player Available]

Has Leinhart's football game progressed? Or do his best moves still include being in a hot tub?

[JPS]

The Bills only chance to be respectable in 2013 is if EJ plays a lot.

 

The rest of the clipboard jockeys they have behind him would not make another NFL roster and it will be a disaster if they have to play at all. I agree on Kolb. He has built up zero loyalty in Bflo and will be ripe for an injury settlement if he's on the shelf for longer than a week.

 

Has Leinhart's football game progressed? Or do his best moves still include being in a hot tub?

Yeah, he's progressed. From a starter, to a backup, to a RAIDERS backup, to out of the league.

[Tiberius]

I'll be shocked -SHOCKED, I say!- if EJ isn't starting against NE*. The addition of Lewis tells me he's a fit for Hacketts offense, where Leinhart is a 'Kolb' (experienced game manager) to be used in emergency, should injuries derail the fast pace O.

 

Kolb to IR or PUP

Tuel cut -PS if available afterward

Lewis #2

Leinhart #3

 

EJ Manuel era starts Sunday, September 8th.

 

If he's healthy, if he gets practice time, IF...

[Sisyphean Bills]

If he's healthy, if he gets practice time, IF...

 

Just rub some dirt on it.

[The Wiz]

A few minutes into preseason game 3, about two weeks from opening day, we had 1 healthy QB, with no back-up.

 

...I would have liked to have seen Tuel play better too, but things obviously changed dramatically when Kolb went down.

 

I agree with the escape alive comments that have been previously mentioned.

Not that it should be an excuse, but we also need to consider how much Tuel has seen time behind the first string offense going against a first string defense.

[2003Contenders]

I actually went to the game Saturday and felt when I was there -- really from the get-go -- that the team seemed lethargic pretty much on both offense and defense. The events yesterday, including the QB acquisitions and the news of the "true" nature of Kolb's injury and prognosis in a strange way actually made me feel a bit better than I did when I went to bed Saturday night.

 

1. I am guessing that the injury to Kolb occurred on that first down scramble he had on the TD drive. He did get kneed in the head there, and even though he was slow to get up seemed OK afterwards, as he did not come off the field and was there to watch CJ score. Frankly, I was more worried about CJ after the knee scare after the TD. Still, Kolb did not return -- and the first quarter was not yet over. At the time, I wondered if perhaps the coaching staff was giving Tuel the opportunity to get some first-team snaps in a real game situation and that perhaps there was an open competition between Kolb and Tuel. I had no idea that Kolb was dealing with concussion symptoms.

 

2. On Tuel's first drive, he started off with a pretty deep pass to TJ Graham, which Graham unecessarily drew the flag to negate. That penalty ruined the drive as instead of setting them up with a 1st down in Redskins' territory, they were 1st and 20 deep in their own territory. I remember the 3rd and long call was a dump off that had no chance of resulting in a first down. That, as we would see, would be the precursor of things to come.

 

3. Tuel did lead what should have been a scoring drive on his next drive. At the time the score was 10-7, and a TD there would have put the Bills in the lead. Of course, Stevie was careless with the ball and fumbled there. The offense would not seriously threaten again.

 

4. I do believe that after Kolb went down, the coaching staff came to the realization that Tuel was the last man up at the QB position. Hence, he was advised (maybe ordered) not to take any serious risks. That would explain all the cheap dumpoffs on 3rd and long plays. Once the game got out of hand in the 2nd half, it was pretty clear that the Bills were trying to hurry the clock along to get out of Dodge in one piece.

 

5. If my conjecture above is true, then Tuel's performance Saturday cannot be counted against him. Essentially he was serving the role of a long reliever coming into a baseball game in the early innings with a commanding deficit. His role was to run the offense and get them through the game as unscathed as possible.

 

6. I am not sure that the acquisition of two QBs means anything at all. I think Leinart ostensibly replaces Kolb in the role of veteran journeyman signal caller. The Lewis acquisition could mean any number of things:

 

-- Insurance in case Leinart is not up to the challenge. Remember, he was not even employed prior to yesterday.

-- An extra arm in practice to keep Leinart/Tuel fresh

-- Insurance in case EJ Manuel is not ready to start the regular season

-- Maybe Whaley (or whomever) had admired Lewis from afar and was eager to acquire him now

-- Maybe the coaching staff has seen enough of Tuel and are looking for an upgrade

[MDH]

I just don't see Tuel going to the PS when he's the only healthy QB on the roster who knows this offense. That alone gets him the week 1 start if EJ is unable to go.

 

My guess is the 3 QBs on the roster on opening day are EJ, Tuel and Leinart with Kolb being put on IR. After yet another concussion I don't see Kolb ever taking a snap in a real game for the Bills. I don't see Lewis on the final roster either. He's simply there to take snaps in this last week of practice before the real bullets fly. He'll be cut next week unless he plays very well in the final pre-season game.

 

If Tuel has to start in week 1 they need to scrap the hurry up offense that week. The last thing I want is Brady and co. getting more opportunities because the offense can't stay on the field. They'd be wise to go to a ball control, clock control type of game plan for that week and keep the ball out of Brady's hands as much as possible. Somehow I doubt they'll do this though.

[Dorkington]

Between our deteriorating QB situation, losing Gilmore, and issues with our run offense AND defense, I bet the Patriots are drooling over the prospect of facing us in two weeks. One of these years we'll catch a break, right?